Starter help!

[SKSands]

Hello, I've recently started fishtanking(?) and i had a few questions.
Is my 10 gallon tank is good for my chosen fish species?
Did i get the right kind of fish
What kind of food should i get?
How ofter should the light stay on?

The fish types I chose were 1 Pleco and 4-8 Guppies. my LFS told me that these were very easy/beginner fish, so naturally, i agreed. however, later research said that Plecos can grow to over 3' in length. naturally, i'm worried about the health of my Pleco, but even further research said that there are species that only grow to about 3"-5" in length, is this true?

The other type of fish i'm getting (tommrow) is guppies. the fish store employee said anywhere between 4-10 would be fine, but the internet said that no more than 8. I plan on middle-balling it and going with 6, is this ok? will there be too many fish in the tank? Which leads me to my next question, I know that guppies eat their fry, and i also know that the fry will scoot away and hide if there is enough vegetation. i have quite a few atrifical plants in my tank, some of the spiky(think pine) and some of the leafy(think oak). will the fry be able to hide and grow to full size, or will it not matter? and on the order of vegetation, comes my next question. I have a Pleco fish. and i know that they eat algae(more on that later), there is a slight overhang caused by bent vegetation and me being a dumbass and putting the plants in last, and having them float, and my pleco has been hiding underneath that during the "daytime" when i have my light on. Does he need an actual overhang that blocks all light, or will the veggies suffice? and on the topic of light, this brings me to my final question, how long should i leave my light on for? my LFS said 12 hours would be fine, but the internet says any where from 8-10. i've been doing it for 10 now, but is this enough? do i need more? less? i know algae need light, so i have to leave it on for my Pleco's food, but for how long?



Thanks in advance
Steven K. Sands

 

[CAPSLOCK]

If you just set the tank up in the past few days and did not specifically cycle it (you will know if you did), I wouldn't add any more fish at this point. You'll want to keep an eye on the water parameters (especially ammonia) and be ready to do a water change if the level starts to rise (it will). Once the tank is cycled (enough beneficial bacteria to consume the ammonia / nitrite so the levels stay 0) you can add the additional guppies.

10g is a nice size for the guppies. I think 4-10 guppies and an algae eater would be fine. Starting with fewer (6) is a good idea since then you won't have the tank overpopulated too quickly. If you get all males, you won't have to worry about babies. They are cute though, if you want to let them breed in your tank. If you have a "normally" decorated tank (not a lush full tank and not a barren tank) you will usually get one or two from each batch that will grow up, the smartest ones that hide the best. The rest will get eaten by the adults.

The pleco is almost definitely a common pleco, which is one of the big ones. The ones that stay small are fancier and not as commonly sold. If you can bring him back and get store credit, that would be ideal. You can let him stay in the tank for a while if you want, but keep in mind that plecos are poop machines, especially as they grow. Even most of the smaller plecos would probably be a bit cramped in the 10g, maybe see if you can find an oto once the tank is cycled and you have some algae growing - those guys stay small and don't cause problems. You don't need an algae eater right away, not until you are having algae growth.

Anywhere in there on the light is fine - if you have natural light in the room (like from windows), 8-10 is probably good and then the rest of the light in the room will give the fish a natural dawn and dusk. If the room is darker, you can have it on longer but the longer the light is on, the more algae you will likely have. If you have no live plants, the light is really just to give the fish a day / night schedule and allow them to see (more important if the room is dark), so it's not critical that they are getting a specific amount. Algae will grow in some pretty dim conditions and with shorter photo periods, so I wouldn't worry about not having enough light for it - it will grow whether you want it to or not, unless you totally black out the tank.

Food - the basic tropical flakes or crisps are good for the guppies. You can do another smaller food additionally if you want a treat for them. If you are needing algae for the pleco, you can supplement what he finds naturally in the tank with those algae wafers that will sink down and he can then pick at them. Guppies will pick at those as well.

 

[FishDad]

You are in a danger zone my friend. My first ten gallon tank was from petsmart. We put six various tropicals in it and the next morning all were dead. I think before anyone here can help you we need to know if you understand the tank cycle.

 

[SKSands]

Correct me if i'm wrong, but cycling a tank means establishing bacteria in the filter that chomp away at the stuff that makes the fish die. Or by cycling do you mean the process that turns fishpoo into plant fertilizer?

 

[FishDad]

The first one. If you cycled the tank then great, but if you did not go through that process then NEED to do 50% or more water changes every day. And with a ten gallon tank even that will not be enough. Your ammonia will spike very rapidly in ten gallons of water. Do not be discouraged, pet store chains are famous for doing this to people. You will need a test kit, preferably liquid by api. Because it seems you will be battling constant ammonia for the next three weeks I would purchase a sea chem ammonia alert card as well. It will indicate in real time your ammonia levels. This is assuming you did not cycle ofcourse, which it sounds like you did not. If not I would google "aquarium nitrogen cycle" and get aquainted with it. Its a balance that must be respected and understood to be successful in this hobby. I found that out the hard way.

 

[SKSands]

The LFS i go to( i go to a local one, not petco, or similar) gave me a bag of ammonia, told me to add it to the water in the tank, and come back in 2 weeks. from what i understand, this is called a "fishless cycle" and it gives the bacteria a jumpstart.

As for the nitrogen cycle, it seems that i'm missing a very crucial part of the chain, being live plants. According to the information i have, without live plants, first ammonia, then nitrites, then nitrates will build up in my tank. I just tested my water on all 3 and ammonia and nitirites barely registered on a Hospital grade PPM measure, as in 0.000001%. But the Nitrates are at 0.024% is this OK?

 

[lauraf]

Well, you've started well doing a fishless cycle. Fantastic. When the nitrates build up like that, it just means it's time for a water change - that's how we keep nitrate at non-harmful levels. The fact that you have almost no ammonia or nitrite is great.
You do not need plants in an aquarium. They will help offset how much nitrate builds up, however. But that's what water changes are for anyway. Maybe keeping plants is something you'll want to explore at a later point - it's highly enjoyable - but no need to go there now if you don't want to.
Take the pleco back. Even if he is a bristlenose - the kind that stay smaller - 10g is still too small.
And welcome to the forum!
Laura

 

[SKSands]

The Store told me that he would stay small, and eat algae off the tank, i saw some bigger ones (they were a foot or more in length, holy crap) and asked if he would get that big. The responded in the negative. If i do take 'em back, how should i go about cleaning Algae off the side of my tank? And how does one exactly go about doing a water change? i've seen that term tossed around, but have no idea what it means (besides the obvious of course). does it mean to just switch water out, or run it through some kind of special process? And thank you for the welcome.

 

[Thyra]

What you need is a siphon so that you "vacuum" the substrate as you remove a certain amount of water (Usually 20% to 50% but this will depend on what your water tests) You then replace the water with dechlorinated water the same temp. How your water tests for the three important things - ammonia, nitrite and nitrate is the key here and that is why a liquid test kit is so important.

 

[SKSands]

i think i have one of those. let me see if i can get a picture of it.

 

[SKSands]

Ah. Here we are. Like this?
EDIT: The viewer doesn't seem to like my picture. Right-click it and click "Open In New Tab"

 

[lauraf]

Yup, that's a siphon/gravel vacuum.

 

[SKSands]

Now. how do i get it to work? the box said to pump it up and down and it would suction, but i tried it in an empty tank and couldn't get it do do jack squat.

 

[lauraf]

Okay, well, it only works in water.

 

[SKSands]

I suppose i had that one coming. I tried it in a fish tank FULL OF WATER and nothing else, but it didn't do anything. no suction.

 

[FishDad]

You also have to stand on your head and do a gregorian chant.

Heh, but seriously you start the syphon process by sucking on one end if it doesn't have a pump attached. Once you get it started gravity will do the rest.

 

[OrangeCones]

Another easy way to use those that don't have a pump attached is to submerge it completly in the tank. Once its full of water, put you thumb over the exit end and bring it out of the tank and lower than the other end is in the tank (into your water change bucket). Then release your thumb and the water will flow out due to gravity. Sure beats a mouthful of aquarium water!!!

 

[FishDad]

Thats a really good idea!

 

[Thyra]

There are also several videos on Youtube.

 

[PetCrazyy919]

Hi! To the best of my ability, I've answered your questions.
Is my 10 gallon tank is good for my chosen fish species? Yes, it sounds like your fish will be fine together and can both live in a 10-gallon tank. However, I'd be concerned about the amount of fish you're getting. The absolute minimum is 1 gallon per inch of fish. You'd have around 12 inches of fish...and in my experience, it's better to go with even less fish as a high number of fish can muck up your aquarium water quickly. Maybe just a few less guppies and you should be fine.
Did I get the right kind of fish? Sure, your fish sound great.
What kind of food should i get? Any tropical fish food should be good. Almost every pet store sells some.
How ofter should the light stay on? Probably around 12 hours daily, but a little fluctuation is fine.